Tastes Like Burning

I made changes to the level format so that now everything can be sent to the client but the graphics (that would surely take too long). This means, all you need to do to join a server with custom levels (provided it is made out of graphics that come with the game or you have) is join it. It will be trivial to let the client save the level to their machine if they like it - I’ve set that up for now just to test that the levels send correctly (A diff on the level files shows no difference, despite their being sent as individual game objects and reconstituted into a file at the other end).

Also, produced a first level that looks pretty alright. There’s definitely allot of potential to create a beautiful level in the engine / editor with relative (read: relative to my previous editors) ease. There’s nothing fancy like edit-undo :p

Also made some changes to the underlying engine, I’m dropping my physics object in favor of a more generalized collision and response system. Also, where collisions used to be based on volumes (well, in 2d, areas) I’m moving to use as many ray-collisions as possible, as unlike a volume collision I can generate more data for a ray hit, surface normal, exact hit position, etc - and it’s easier: If a player or bullet is traveling a billion miles per hour, stretching the volumes out over a distance is more complicated, however with the ray I just move the origin back to where they were last update, and lengthen it. This should stop the “people falling through the terrain” problems on slow computers, or when spotlight suddenly decides to index

As I started trying to make the first level for testing, I realized that it was a very difficult workflow to devise the level in lineform and then figure out how to build it up from graphics in the editor. So I added a simple vector editor into the editor. This will change the aesthetic of the game somewhat - but make the terrain more unique and varied, and give the computers a bit of a break on calculating everything.

The vector objects are sent over the network in entirety from the host to the clients on first entry to the game. The vector information is sent as a long string - which means some overhead for the moment someone joins the game - this may mean I can only allow people to join at the end of or beginning of a round to prevent lagging the hosts, but I won’t know until we test it. The whole vector objects for a level should only be a few k of strings - though GNet continues to surprise me with inefficiencies to match my own inefficiencies :p

Beginning to put together a test level now.

I am beginning the coding. It will not be possible to mod the game. This keeps me from worrying about allot of issues with regard to different versions on different computers, etc, and cheating attempts - and makes it faster for me to make the game - on the other hand it will mean that the game is not as extensible for me either, and I’ll pretty much have to stick to the original design. Fine by me in this case - I just want to get this done and out the door.

Initial setup - just filling in the code for the character. Once I’ve got the character behaving right and replicated across the network correctly, I’ll begin working on a controller type (the only data the client will be sending across the network will be controls).

Characters and - well - everything will be pretty small. Here’s some small and high-res versions. Vector only for work files - in game it will be bitmaps for speed.

Demo Kit: MP5A3 - ANM-14 (Incendiary Grenade) - Detpack
Assault Kit: G3A3 - ANM-8 (Smoke Grenade) - Sandbag (yeah - this needs a redraw)
Sniper Kit: M24 - USP SD - (Grapple missing, I’m not sure on this one yet)
Anti-Armor Kit: Armbrust (Recoilless Rocket Launcher) - USP w/OD furniture

From left to right on bottom: Sniper, Demolitions, Assault, Anti-Armor

[url] http://www.owoho.com/dev/wargame_characters.png [/url]

Here’s my post from the EW2 forums (thread here: http://owoho.com/EscortWing/viewtopic.php?t=694&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 )

“Characters can stand, jump, or go prone.

When you spawn you choose a character class: Assault, Anti-Armor, Demolitions, Sniper

Assault:
General soldier, supports objective attacks. Good enough at everything.
Assault Rifle - good all-round weapon, single-shot and perhaps 3-round burst. It takes a little while to aim, so in close quarters, or while jumping / running fast it’s not very accurate. High power.
Smoke Grenade - when thrown smoke appears opaque to the enemy team, transparent to yours. Use it to make an area invisible to the enemy for a short period of time - without hindering your teammates.
Sandbags - can place small sandbag piles, high enough that if you go prone behind them, you’ll be shielded from direct fire.

Anti-Armor:
The artillary - he can destroy pretty much anything from a distance at the cost of being the slowest and fairly vulnerable to conventional attacks.
Rocket Launcher - slow to reload, fires fairly slow HE rockets that do significant damage. There is a backblast to firing - teammates (or enemies) directly behind launcher can be damaged. Rocket launcher can accept firing-solutions from teammates (a teammate can designate a target that the Anti-Armor cannot see, and it will appear as a target in the sky, that if the rocket passes through, it will land on the teammate’s target. These last for about 15 seconds and are visible to all anti-armor class soldiers on the team. They are visible to the enemy as a laser-dot blinking on their position.
Pistol - a backup, rather weak (especially at range) but effective enough as a PDW.

Demolitions:
Fastest player in the game - designed to get in close to objectives. Focused on CQB combat because his likely targets - buildings, tunnel networks, etc, will involve getting inside and placing his detpack.
Sub Machine Gun - best close range weapon, acceptable at medium range. Very well suited to CQB - large mags, high ROF, quick aiming.
Incendiary Grenade - when it detonates leaves a creates a large intense fire that players cannot cross without dying - fire lasts 10-15 seconds or so.
Detpack - can be tossed a short distance, looks like an innocuous satchel. Can be remote-detonated. Most powerful explosion in the game.

Sniper:
Stealth loner, excellent at defense - relies on escape and evasion. When the sniper stands still, he fades away until he is almost completely transparent. If he is hit, attacks, or moves, he becomes opaque and clearly visible again.
Sniper Rifle - lets the sniper move his view further than any other character (at the cost of a small view-area in the scope) A headshot will kill every other character in one hit. Very slow reload speed, and when fired makes the sniper completely visible for 5 or so seconds.
Silenced Pistol - weak, close-range, but when it is fired it *does not* make the sniper more visible - so if enemies get close without spotting you, you can try and take them out with the silenced pistol.
Grapple - lets the sniper reach high-places and ledges.”

I’ve decided to restart this site as a general blog - an external public conscience rather than anything valuable for others.

potato pie

Mazer was angry.
Well, angry and pissed he thought.
Or maybe just pissed.
Yes.
Pissed.
Pissed OFF.
He sat in a torn up old plastic seated booth, under a flickering light, chewing on a matchstick.
When all the sudden these mallrats showed up.
Looking at Phoenix’s freckles across from him in the booth, he pursed his lips and faced the oil-stained ceiling, and then he shrieked.
The three members of Snotwatche’s gang realized they were in for a fight, but aparently had planned ahead.
The one in the center, he planted his feet with a stomp, crushing a few oyster shells litering the floor.
His greatcoat flew off, and Mazer felt a tingle as the air polarized with the activation of the shield.
But really, he is pissed because the Snot’s grabbing a box-gun out of his descending greatcoat.
Shields up, M pulls a brick out of the wall, they won’t see
The plywood table disintigrates, taking with it his glass of orange mango and book of matches.
Bricks flying into chunks is all that can be heard above the ridiculous barrage.
Still underneath it he knows “as long as he doesn’t overheat, I’m still alive.”
Mazer’s paralyzed under the force of 1000 per minute in the wrong air, leaving a cutout around him in the brick wall of the cafe.
Mazer’s cafe.
Phoenix comes in the door like a bolt, hitting the Snot in the back with both feet, and does away with him–an old
fashioned knife.
Mazer spits out his match, impressed, and hurls his brick at Snot Right’s face.
Who-Curly, done with Snot Left by a bottle, has some seriously steamed up glasses, so he just says to the oppositte wall,
“oh wow.”
And Mazer, he’s staring at Phoenix’s lines, but thinking,
Not the last time you Snots come into MY cafe, but next time you’ll at least put up a fight.
A chain
of flowers.

When he dropped the broom handle into the crock of molten sweets, he wasn’t thinking about now.
Now, when the room is covered in red, it’s hard to tell the blood from the splatterings
caused by that delicious candy shell.

Natural (n) 1. An idiot, one born without the usual powers of understanding.
2. A person who seems to be skilled without prior experience in a trade or
subject, a genius.

Tonight she stands in front of the mirror

rolls her eyes backward

looks at the day through the eyes of walls

Blows out her teeth and goes to sleep

Today we sit in front of her house

stare at the street

look to tonight like two sacred sublimes

Grab hands and take a bow